The Last Rose of Summer
by Uninformed Conformist
Summary: "When true hearts lie withered, and fond ones are flown, who would inhabit this bleak world alone?" Summer Rose has one goal in her heart - to protect this world so her daughter won't have to inherit the burden of being a huntress.


_Author's Notes - My second piece on this site, and my first RWBY one at that. This interpretation of Summer Rose is based on the one by NaijMizuho on DeviantArt. Credit is due to him. Anyway, enjoy~_

The wind was picking up, and the snow was starting to fall heavier and faster. The branches of the tall trees in the midst of winter loosely swayed and the bark bellowed. Draped in her hooded white cloak, a woman, who under her cloak wore a black and red corset outfitted over a white undershirt with a red skirt with long red stockings and black boots, surveyed the scene before her amidst the growing harshness of the weather. Her mouth was agape in shock of what lay before her.

A ravaged township lay partway buried beneath a thick blanket of snow, reddened in certain areas and dotted with the lifeless droves of people's bodies. A dreadful sight, not for the faint of heart. Summer Rose, the huntress dispatched to answer this town's distress signal had arrived late, having been delayed by the worsening of the storm that slowly swept across the region, had been used to this sight as of late. This town was attacked by the Creatures of Grimm, without a doubt. By the looks of the wounds that the corpses had sported, this place had been wiped out by a large mob of Beowolves. In her vast knowledge and experience as a huntress, Summer knew that Beowolves were fairly weak individually, but were able to become the thing of nightmares when they flocked together, creating an unstoppable black torrent of claws and teeth. They strike fast and with ferocity, so the people of this town probably never saw it coming.

"... God damn it all..." Summer cursed under her breath. The Creatures of Grimm were growing in numbers at an alarming rate recently, and as such, the numbers of available hunters and huntresses was simultaneously declining as reports of bodies began to start piling up. The sight of carnage was hardly uncommon these days, especially to Summer, who normally operated alone. She pulled out her Scroll to report the situation to her headquarters, but noticed that the signal wouldn't come through.

'It's like nature is conspiring with the Grimm to try and kill us.' Summer thought to herself. The storm hindered her today in more ways than one. Not only was it crippling her communication system, but it also drastically slowed her progress to make it out here, with the time delay likely being a factor in the survival of the town's population. It also kept her home longer than she should have been, with her daughter Ruby drowsily begging her to tuck her in for bed and tell her another heroic tale as a bedtime story. Even at just 6 years old, Ruby's enthusiasm and passion for wanting to emulate the heroes in her stories already showed great potential in her becoming a huntress.

But Summer didn't want for that to be. She didn't want Ruby to have to face the harsh realism that is the life of a huntress - seeing innocent people and comrades fall victim and die to the relentless dark forces that scourge the world of Remnant. Which is exactly why she fought. For her daughter's sake, she would, with all she can muster, dispel the evil from the world and make it a safe place for Ruby to grow up in and prosper. By herself, it was a goal that was nearly impossible. But if there's a will, there's a way, right?

So she was forced to leave Ruby before she drifted off into a deep and peaceful slumber, before she was able to say goodbye. She left her older daughter, Yang Xiao Long, who retained her father's surname, to take care of Ruby in her absence, for however long as it would be. Summer had been in the middle of wistfully thinking of her children when from behind her she suddenly noticed the arcing claws of a charging Beowolf coming down over her shoulder.

Summer quickly spins around to face the Beowolf, her hood falling off in the process, freeing her long crimson ponytail to blow with her cloak in the wind. Dodging the raking claw of the Beowolf, she unsheathes her two twin swords, Thorn and Petal, and slashes the Beowolf into cleanly cut fourths. As the pieces of the monster drop onto the snow, Summer looks towards the direction from whence she came to be face-to-face with a legion of Beowolves, which restlessly bounce back and fourth on their hind legs, waiting to charge Summer all at once.

With silver eyes as cold as the snow beneath her scanning the enemy in front of her, Summer prepares herself to return the onslaught these beasts had unleashed on the town tenfold. She takes a fighting stance with her swords, when finally the Alpha Beowolf gives a deafening howl, which signals every member of the pack to converge on their prey.

"... I'm going home today." Summer established a mantra for herself and stoicly stared down the charging monsters. As the first one lunged at her with its maw agape, Summer sprung into the air, leaving behind a blur of rose petals. The front few Beowolves frantically tried to relocate their target, but all for naught. Summer, using her Semblance of wind, plunged downward into the mass and slashed all about her, creating a flurry of snow, petals, and chopped bits of several Beowolves.

Summer slashed and diced up each Beowolf that came upon her, but she had to react quickly. The blizzard only kept accelerating, blowing snow all around, amassing a blinding mist that only closed in on her with every passing minute. The Beowolves leapt out from all sides, each in an attempt to blindside her. Even with her vision slowly fading, Summer continued to fight the pack. However, the numbers began to overwhelm her in the crippling circumstances. She came up with the idea to lure the Beowolves into the thicker forest, where the snow couldn't blow. Either way, she's prone to ambushes, but would rather take her chances than to fight in absolute zero visibility.

She fought her way in the direction she remembered the forest to be, eventually making out the shadowy shapes of tree trunks. Along the way, she would be nicked and lightly cut up by the Beowolves that got her in their reach due to her slow advancing. The injuries were minor, but the blowing wind and snow stung a great deal and made her struggling movement even harder.

"I'm going home today..." Summer gritted her teeth as she furiously fought on in the brutal conditions. At last making it far enough into the woods so that she can see further around her, she continued to engage the hordes of Beowolves. From behind trees and other brush, they would jump out at her, occasionally scoring more hits on her. Something was wrong. Why wasn't her Aura working? The inner manifestation of your soul that shields you from harm. Summer's usually abundant Aura was failing her now, allowing for the Beowolves to weaken her by that much with every single attack.

'Is it... because I'm afraid? Afraid of what? These monsters aren't that difficult to defeat. ... Easy for me to say. I'm... getting killed out here. But, I'm going home... today.' As Summer began to fight with her thoughts, the actual enemies she fought began to gain the upper hand. A clean rake tearing through her weakening Aura and her waist from a lunging Beowolf momentarily broke Summer out of her daze, causing her to react with a Semblance-powered horizontal slash with both of her weapons, manifesting a squall of wind and petals, blowing the snow around her and throwing loose branches from the trees, killing many Beowolves caught in the attack. All but a few Beowolves remain. 'I am not afraid of dying, but... I can't leave her alone. I have to...'

In the middle of thinking again, Summer is raked in the back by the Alpha Beowolf, which jumped at her from behind. Summer lurches forwards, coughing blood, trying for air. She manages to catch herself from falling over and turns to face the Alpha, enraged. Assisted by her Semblance, Summer slashes the Alpha Beowolf in all different directions, cutting it to ribbons before scattering every little piece in the wind, defeating the last of the Beowolves in the crosswind.

Summer's swords fall from her hands and she drops to her knees, clutching her various wounds, slowly dripping blood onto the snowy ground, staining it as red as her namesake would imply. She coughs, spurting out more blood which begins to seep from her mouth. "Ruby... I'm..." Summer shakily rises to her feet and trudges onwards, drops of blood leaving a red trail behind her. "... I'm sorry that I can't protect you. This world... was too dangerous for even me." Summer says to herself as she limps through the forest in the middle of the blizzard.

"I'm sorry... that I won't be able to see you anymore, or... tuck you in at night or tell you another bedtime story of heroes and triumphs..." Summer leads herself to another clearing that leads to a high cliff. Upon reaching the edge, she collapses. Her white cloak torn, she weakly turns over, staring up at the sky. "No matter what happens, Ruby... I want you to be safe... and for you to know... that I always... loved you." The wind picks up.

...

In a warm home in Vale, an 8 year old Yang Xiao Long stares out her window in the middle of the night. The blowing snow only proceeds to move faster and faster, rushing past the short haired blond girl's view.

"... It's really windy today..." She thoughtfully remarks to herself. Just then, the bedroom door slowly creaks open behind her. Yang turns to look to see her little sister traipse in, clutching her favorite stuffed animal to her chest. Yang asks, "Ruby? Why are you still up?"

"I can't sleep. I keep having bad dreams. Can I sleep with you?" Ruby looks up from the floor into her older sister's eyes. Her own silver eyes were pink, as if she'd been crying...

"Sure. C'mere, sis." Yang beckons her over, patting at a spot on the bed right next to her. Ruby crawls up onto Yang's bed and sits down with her. Yang embraces her sister. "Do you want another bedtime story? We can read from your books."

"No. You already gave me one. I want Mom to read me one next." Ruby curls herself up into a ball, pulling her knees in tightly.

"Oh... Do you want to tell me what your bad dreams are about?" Yang softly whispers to her sister.

"I had a dream where... Mom was fighting, and then she lost, and... she couldn't come home." Ruby sniffles and whimpers quietly while Yang continues to hold her tight. "But... I also had a good dream, too. A dream where... I get to be like the heroes and help people. I saved a lot of people, and everyone was happy." Ruby lightened up and Yang smiled. Ruby gave an extended yawn and layed back, resting her head on a pillow. "Yang, do you think Mom's gonna make cookies when she gets back?"

"I'm sure she will. We'll all make a big batch of chocolate chip cookies." Yang replied, pulling the covers over her sleepy sister. Ruby's eyes started to flutter shut.

"Good night, Yang..."

"Good night, sis."


End file.
